Murder and Mayhem on a Megaship . . . Poppy Legend, forty years old and feeling just a touch behind in life, is sailing back to the last place she wants to go . . . home. Sure, she snagged a fantastic concierge gig on the inaugural voyage of a billionaire’s cruise line, which promises to revitalize her island home, Celebration Cay—the place she ran away from years ago.Not that she has time to … ago.
Not that she has time to worry about what’s waiting in the future. A spoiled billionaire, rich and demanding cruise guests, and two of the world’s top boxers plus their eccentric entourages are doing everything they can to dominate every single second of Poppy’s present.
That is, until a killer delivers a fatal sucker punch that threatens to sink the cruise line on its maiden journey.
With the livelihood of Poppy’s hometown (and her own business) about to be left dead in the water—the personal concierge dives in to hunt down a murderer.
Will an amateur sleuth be able flush out a homicidal loose cannon, or will a devil cast Poppy into the deep blue sea?
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Another series to be added to my must listen/read list, I loved it. I really like the idea of the cruise ship for the setting of this fun series because of the interesting, quirky and even eccentric characters that make up the passengers. The main characters were like able too, I especially like Ollie and the skills she brought to the mystery. I also liked the fact that Poppy was returning to her home town after a long absence and the changes the small island went through, the author makes it easy to picture and gives a nice background to the story and characters. The mystery was good and being set on a cruise ship meant there was plenty of suspects and motives to keep you guessing. Looking forward to the next book.
Poppy is to busy as the cruise concierge trying to stop two boxers from fighting before the big match, to worry about her return to her home town and the family and ex boyfriend she left behind. That is until she finds the manager of one of the boxers dead in his cabin and her ex boyfriend is the policeman in charge of the murder investigation. Not a good start for the ships maiden voyage, which is why her boss orders her to investigate. Poppy’s sister is pleased to have her back and jumps on board helping her find a killer. The killer has other ideas and isn’t afraid to start a few fires to stop them in there tracks.
I liked the narrator and thought she was a good choice as she brought the characters and story to life.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Poppy and Oli are sisters who work together and they each have their own style when investigating and the suprise at the end wow I was totally off base. The characters are so well written and the story was amazing.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ahhhhh this book was just so good and so easy to get lost in. I just absolutely loved getting to enter this new world and see all these amazing characters. I will most definitely be reading more book by this author.
Omg! Total surprise at the ending. I was completely on the wrong track! This series is going to be amazing! I adore Poppy and Oli! They’re the best sisters and work together so well. Each have their own specialty that make their sleuthing work. The mystery was so interesting too. There was so much going on with the victim that anything could have been the reason for him being murdered. Really good start to the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Our heroine is working as the concierge on this maiden voyage, but there is a lot more to deal with than just keeping the guests happy. And when a murder threatens to scuttle the entire affair, she takes on solving the murder as well.
This is a cozy mystery book set on a cruise ship. I found the book to be well written and easy to read. I really like the cruise ship setting as it keeps everything contained and provides a good reason for pulling together an interesting combination of characters. This book did suffer slightly from being the first book in a series in that there was a lot of background to establish, but really not too much. I did like the characters, particularly our heroine, and look forward to seeing where her adventures take us next. Overall, a highly enjoyable maiden voyage.
Highly recommended
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes. –
Just from the title Cruising for a Bruising made me want to sing the song. After I got over that I really got into the book. Poppy is a wonderful character that all readers will love. The story line is based in a different setting than most other cozy mysteries which is always refreshing. Be careful not to devour the book too quickly.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Poppy is a cruise director aboard a ship and is tasked with babysitting two boxers who seem to want to cause problems and this takes most of Poppies tiime. That is until one of the guests end up murdered. This was the first time for me to read a non paranormal cozy from this author. This is a slow paced story but very good. The characters are an ecclectic mix. The mystery is quite entertaining. I fefinitely recommend this book
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cruising for a Bruising is A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery #1 by M.E. Harmon & Paula Lester
Poppy Legend is a concierge on a cruise ship hired by a billionaire to keep an eye on two world top boxers who like to make trouble. When one of the guests end up murdered, Poppy is a suspect however she is bound and determent to find out who the murderer is. Her business and her hometown is on the line.
Will she find out who murdered the person? You must read it to find out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Slow, But Good, Start to New Cozy Mystery Series
This is the first cozy mystery I’ve read by Paula Lester that is not a paranormal one; I had to pick this one up, as I do enjoy her paranormal cozies a lot. I think this is a splendid idea for a new series, as the guests on a cruise ship are ever-changing, bringing a lot of room for variety in the types of murders in future books. As this is the first book of the series, the authors chose to give it a relatively slow start compared to typical cozy mysteries. We get to know our heroine, whom I’m glad is a 40-something, and some of the crew as well as the billionaire owner. But, in general, even for starting a series, I’m not a fan of mysteries starting slowly. For me, murder mysteries don’t start until the body drops, and that felt late here, slowing down the pace. Once we actually got to the mystery part, the pace picked up. Because of the late start, I don’t feel like the mystery had as many red herrings and blind alleys as it should have, though the confined space of a cruise ship gives plenty of possibilities for suspects—especially giving the animosity between the two boxers entourages and fans. All in all, I thought this was a good start to a new mystery series, though I hope the pace of the other ones to come is not as slow.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Poppy fled home after a breakup and is returning years later on a cruise ship as a travel concierge. She had managed to convince the ship’s owner to help save her home Key by making it a tourist attraction that passengers could visit and, hopefully, revive the economy. To ensure success of the maiden voyage, a boxing match is scheduled. However, a murder may jeopardize everything, and since Poppy found the body, she is a major suspect. I thoroughly enjoyed this well written mystery, especially for Poppy’s developing relationships within her reunited family and friends.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cruising for a Bruising is the first book in the “A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery” series and is a great start to this new series.
Just reading this book makes me want to go on another cruise (minus the murder part). The characters are likable and realistic. The storyline is well written and engaging, with humour, murder, a little mayhem, and Poppy’s concierge business that could go down with the ship.
I cannot wait for the next book in this new series
I read and reviewed this book with no obligation.
Welcome aboard the “Journee” and her maiden voyage, where several people have staked money and time into making the Journee the next big thing. Poppy has landed the job of concierge so the ship and its employees and guests are part of her world, not vice versa. Everything needs to run smooth but with two boxers and their shady entourages aboard things go south quick when someone gets a KO, permanently. Poppy must resolve this to keep the ship and her own hometown businesses a float.
though written by two people I could heavily see Paula Lester’s influence having read her other cozy mysteries.
I love cozy mysteries and this is a great start to a series. The author does a great job describing throughout the story line that you feel like you’re right there. The story line is well written and you feel like you’re right there in the story. It’s entertaining, captivating, has suspense with some humor mixed in and great characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a good, cozy mystery read. A little slow to start, but overall, I enjoyed it.
Good story line that was entertaining. The detailed descriptions were easy to visualize. The dialogue was engaging and made me feel as if I was a part if the story. Was not able to become attached to the characters as of yet. I hope that in upcoming books, I will be able to feel a bind with the characters.
Written as a 1st person, single POV of view with a compleated mystery ending.
Would I recommend this book? Yes
Would I read more of this author? Yes
Sassy Beta Reading and Review
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Poppy has a concierge job on an elite cruise ship’s maiden voyage. On board are not only the owner of the ship, but also two light weight boxer, who are scheduled to fight against each other , but their rivalry goes deep and is causing trouble on board. When finally the manager of one of them is killed, a whole new box of Pandora is opening up. Poppy is asked to investigate, although she is untrained.
A slightly crazy cozy mystery, a mix of fast- and slow paced phases, a little too much detail on things that are unimportant, but all in all enjoyable to read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’ve read several books written by Paula Lester; she has done a great job at writing a good book; she is becoming one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to read more of books her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I loved the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
I enjoyed this cozy mystery. The main character, Poppy, has returned to her hometown after spending fifteen years in Europe. She is on the maiden voyage of a new cruise line and things are okay until they aren’t. There are enough twists and turns to keep your interest. I am looking forward to more books by this author!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a new author for me. The plot and storyline were very well done. Such a wonderful story. I would definitely try another book by This author.
This was a very good beginning to a new series. The characters are interesting and entertaining. The mystery is good and there are lots of clues. All in all a good read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cruising for a Bruising is the first book in the Cruise Ship cozy mystery series. I love cruises, I love travel, I love mysteries, so this book was perfect for me. It’s about Poppy, a woman who is on her way home after she went away for many years because of her ex-boyfriend. When someone on the cruise ship is murdered, Poppy and her sister try to solve the mystery and find the killer. I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the characters and the storyline. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next books. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to read mysteries.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.